listfandomcom-20200216-history
Jehovah's Witnesses reference works
Jehovah's Witnesses have published various reference works outlining their interpretations of the Bible. Their most current doctrinal encyclopedia is the two-volume set, Insight on the Scriptures. They are intended for distribution only to members. ''Watchtower Library'' Watchtower Library is a Windows-based research tool distributed on CD-ROM, published every two years from 1995 to 2003, and yearly since 2003."Compact Discs", Watch Tower Publications Index (1986—2008), ©2009 Watch Tower It contains the text of many Jehovah's Witnesses' materials published since 1970, and The Watchtower since 1950. The software also includes audio pronunciations of biblical names and maps of places mentioned in the Bible. Since 1997, Watchtower Library on CDROM has been available in Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish."Announcements", Our Kingdom Ministry, April 1998, page 7 Multiple editions of Watchtower Library can be used simultaneously, allowing the user to research in a preferred language and automatically display the corresponding article in another language."Help Section 2.1 - Synchronize", Using Watchtower Library, ©2009 Watch Tower ''Watch Tower Publications Index'' In 1960"Announcements", The Watchtower, January 1, 1966, page 32 and 1985,"How to Use This Index", Watch Tower Publications Index (1930-1985), page 5 Jehovah's Witnesses published cumulative indexesSee usage note at Wiktionary's entry for "indices". for nearly all Watch Tower Society publications released since 1930.Historical Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses by George D. Chryssides, ©2008, Rowman & Littlefield, page 153"The Spirit That Jehovah Blesses", The Watchtower, August 1, 1987, page 28 Since 1985, a new cumulative hardcover index is released every five years, indexing publications released after 1985;"Imitate the Great Teacher", The Watchtower, September 1, 2002 a cumulative softcover index is published each year for publications released since the last hardcover index."‘Seeking Delightful Words, Correct Words’", The Watchtower, December 15, 1990, pages 26-27 Scholarly works have at times referred to Watch Tower Publications Index to indicate Jehovah's Witnesses interest in a particular subject.Persecution and resistance of Jehovah's Witnesses during the Nazi regime by Hans Hesse (editor), ©2001, Berghahn Books, As Retrieved 2009-08-25, page 320, "The quantity of published materials about the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses is clear from Watchtower Publications Index 1930-1985...and subsequent volumes."Aslib directory of information sources in the United Kingdom 2002 Edition by K. Reynard (editor), ©2002 Aslib, page 662, Listing for "International Bible Students Association"American Book Publishing Record Cumulative, 1950-1977..,Volume 7, ©1978 R.R. Bowker Company, page 287, "Watch Tower publications index of subjects discussed and Scriptures explained, 1930-1960"Writings on American History, ©1961 American Historical Association, National Historical Publications Commission, page 8,"WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY. Watch Tower publications index" ''See the Good Land'' See the Good Land, released in 2003, is a 36-page, full-color biblical atlas, with maps, photographs, and accompanying text. By 2006, “See the Good Land” was available in about 80 languages."“It Is Simply Fantastic!”", Awake!, February 2006, page 32 The title is derived from Deuteronomy 3:25. ''Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom'' The Proclaimers book was released in 1993 as the official history of Jehovah's Witnesses. ''Insight on the Scriptures'' Insight on the Scriptures is a two-volume hardcover biblical reference work, published in 1988. The works contain full-color illustrations, graphs, charts, maps and other visual aids, as well as detailed analyses of all subjects found in the Bible as interpreted by Jehovah's Witnesses. Biblical views on subjects such as mercy, death and others are also discussed. The Insight books contain articles on every book of the Bible (except for the deuterocanonical books which are discussed in the article, Apocrypha) with an outline of the principal ideas of each. Insight on the Scriptures replaced Aid to Bible Understanding. ''Reasoning from the Scriptures'' Reasoning From the Scriptures is a doctrinal handbook, published in 1985 and revised in 1989. It is designed as a quick reference work for use in evangelizing activity and source for Bible speeches, and common responses to questions a Witness might encounter. It is mainly for use by the Witnesses, and is available (but not generally offered) to the public."New Field-Ministry Handbook", The Watchtower, March 1, 1986, page 31 The book contains excerpts from a variety of Bible translations, including the King James Version, the Latin Vulgate, and Jehovah's Witnesses' own New World Translation. Reasoning also provides quotations from encyclopedias and reference books about science, archeology, and biblical vocabulary. Reasoning from the Scriptures replaced Make Sure of All Things - Hold Fast to What Is Fine (1965), which in turn replaced Make Sure of All Things originally published in 1953, revised 1957. ''Comprehensive Concordance'' The Comprehensive Concordance of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, released in 1973, lists every occurrence of principal words in the 1971 edition of the New World Translation."Aids to Understanding God’s Purpose", Human Plans Failing as God’s Purpose Succeeds, ©1974 Watch Tower, page 30"Assemblies Assist Those Who Would Share in Divine Victory", The Watchtower, October 15, 1973, page 638 The English edition contains approximately 14,700 word headings and about 333,200 entries."United States of America", 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 221 ''Aid to Bible Understanding'' Aid to Bible Understanding, referred to informally as the Aid Book, was the first doctrinal and biblical encyclopedia of Jehovah's Witnesses, published in part in 1969, and in full in 1971 by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. It is now out of print, superseded by the Insight volumes. The complete work contains cross-referenced articles on over 4000 subjects. It has color maps on its end-sheets and some black-and-white illustrations within the main text. Controversy arose regarding the Aid Book as high-profile members of the religion who contributed to its articles eventually left the organization. Officially, the encyclopedia has an anonymous author, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, though the organization states that over "250 researchers ... contributed to the work". Raymond Franz, a former member of the Governing Body,1973 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 257 claimed to have been one of the researchers and stated that many of the submitted contributions could not be used due to superficiality or a lack of credibility. According to Franz, Watch Tower Society president Nathan H. Knorr appointed Lyman Swingle (who later became a member of the Governing Body), Edward Dunlap of the Gilead school staff, along with Franz in the Writing Department, as the primary writers. Frederick W. Franz, the organization's vice president, advised the writers when scholarly questions arose, or referred them to secular Bible commentaries held at the world headquarters' library. According to Raymond Franz, research for the Aid Book led to new interpretations of some concepts, providing a catalyst for changes in doctrine. For example, the commentary on the subjects "Older Man" and "Overseer" called into question the use of individual elders as overseers, or single points of authority, within the religion's organizational structure; as a result the Watch Tower Society delegated oversight of congregations and branch offices to committees of elders. References ca:Ajuda per entendre la Bíblia Category:Encyclopedias on religion Category:Jehovah's Witnesses literature